I cringed back in horror, feeling faint already.
"What's up?" I heard from Black*Star's direction, although it was unclear who exactly it was. Suddenly thinking about Maka's entry, to be "out" when I least expected it, I immediately turned around and started running in the direction of the dorms.
"I'll see ya later Black*Star!" I mustered as I propelled myself through the auditorium.
"No running in the hall, it's not symmetrical," Death the Kid muttered passing by.
"Not the time for that shit," I called back.
"Symmetry is timeless..." whatever.
I immediately flew up the steps into the dorm room and flung open the door, scanning the room for Maka. No trace of her whatsoever: no books scattered about, no tears, no deluxe Death candies, nothing. Running through the bedrooms, I became frantic. "Maka!" "Maka! Where the hell are you?"
"Maka, Maka" giggled some ominous voice, "gone forever- soon." The very sound put me on edge, some type of mixture between metallic merry-go-round and crack. Tears of frustration began to run from my eyes, stinging my cheeks and seeping into my mouth.
"Who the hell are you? Why are you doing this?! Answer me!" I yelled out, my voice cracking embarrassingly. So not cool.
"We answer to no one, and that whore isn't dead yet so shut up!" Eruptions of manic laughter bounded through the room, boring into my ears.
"You can't do this to her!" I yelled out loud, pounding my head against the wall. "Leave. Her. Alone. If you touch her I'll kill all you bitches!"
"Not if we get to you first!" Suddenly a specter materialized in front of me, its toothy grin crackling with joy. I ran toward it, adrenaline dulling my senses, and upon reaching the freak seething heat raged through my veins, burning me up and scratching my skin. I yelled out in pain, but was cut short by a fist to the head. I think I passed out. . ."
"Soul! Wake up!" I heard, although vision had not returned. "Get up!" Suddenly color pervaded my senses, and I saw Maka on top of me, her expression marred by worry.
"Come on, Maka," I laughed, "my passing out shouldn't be an opportunity to grope me!"
"Gross!" She shrieked, throwing me aside and trashing in the blankets of her bed. In an instant everything came back to me: the terror, the rage, and Maka. I looked up at her, dazed, allowing myself to be aware of how beautiful she was. I could feel all those months of repression, of keeping away all these feelings building up inside of me, threatening to tear me apart. Upon meeting my eyes she looked away, "creep!"
"Maka, I was so worried about you. Damn." All I could muster.
"Why? You know I'll still be top of the class in everything else," she beamed, content with herself.
"So modest."
"Preach Soul. Preach. You're the living, breathing definition of arrogance."
"And perfection. Don't forget." Upon hearing those words Maka looked down, biting down a smile.
"Kind of," she giggled, sitting up and attempting to make eye contact. "You are my weapon after all, my best.. friend." Upon hearing herself complete that sentence she immediately sighed with a familiar air of melancholia.
"Yeah- best... friends," I returned the sigh, questioning why after so long we were still playing this game. I leaned over her to switch off the light, breathing in her scent of cherries and alcohol and feeling intoxicated. Suddenly I felt her hand grasp at me, pulling me closer to her and holding me down in the bed. Her bed. Shifting to position herself directly above me, Maka looked down at me and smiled. I saw her take a nervous intake of air before she came down upon me, clasping her lips around mine. I felt her intense heat overwhelm my senses, filling me with a type of ecstasy I had never before felt. Except when I got my Coolest Guy in the School Award of course. Sliding around in the bed, pulling her closer to me I drove my lips onto hers, prying open her mouth and sliding in my tongue.
"Best friends... isn't enough anymore" she gasped, her warm respiration heating my lips.
"Never was," I muttered, running my hands through her velvety auburn hair.
"Soul- how long have you felt this way?"
Suddenly her face contorted into the familiar form of the Monster, this time with raspberry red eyes and pale white lips, as though all the blood were flowing straight upwards. Although slightly taken aback, I had gotten pretty accustomed to this shit. This time however, I was struck by a terrifying thought: what if Maka was the monster? I looked deep into those bloody red eyes, attempting to find a trace of the person I loved. I could see her, stuck deep inside the pupils.
She was laughing.
I immediately retroceded from the bed, my very breathing stabbing my lungs and filling me with pain. She/Monster began crawling toward me, twitching slightly and cracking its fingers.
"Maka. What the hell are you doing?"
"Oh Soul..." again the same mechanical grinding, "you are so dreamy!" Backing away slowly, I began to think about the situation facing me. Could Maka really be behind all of this? My mind began flashing memories of her, of her shy twinkling laughter, of her fierce expression of concentration during a test, of those gruesome Maka chops... that totally turn me on. Just kidding. Taking a look into the eyes one last time, I was suddenly struck by a peculiarity. Those eyes... were glassy. Taking a closer look at them, maintaining a certain distance, the thin outline of a lense began to appear. Could those be... camaras?
At a lightening speed the monster spontaneously jerked its limbs toward me, rearing its head almost like an animal. Sharp pain was driven up my torso, and each nail was being expertly driven into my skin, shredding it and allowing the free flow of blood. As the blood began to pool into puddles right in front of me, I noticed one obvious feature of the substance. The night-like substance reflected no light; I had been infected with the black blood again. Mechanical Maka was looking at me, her eyes maintaining their beauty. Steadying myself, I flipped her over, crashing onto her and pinning down her arms. Directing my head toward her I became overcome by an alien feeling. One for which I have no name. I brought my head down and laid my lips on hers.
An icy jolt sent a bolt of electricity through my entire body, paralyzing me momentarily. Heeding the shock no attention, I continued, forcing my lips onto hers and allowing the surge to continue, attempting to purge all the venom from her.
"Soul... More. Just a little bit." Her voice had returned. Opening my eyes, I was greeted by the green twinkling orbs that I had come to yearn so much. Sighing, she danced her hands into my shirt up my back, lacing them together and holding me close to her. "This isn't enough." I could feel her heartbeat through my shirt, its rapid pace irregular and broken. Her expression barely resembled that of a human; there was something distinctly artificial about it. Her eyes appeared to be directed in slightly different directions; her mouth overly tensed.
"Maka, are you okay?" I looked at her in horror, unsure of what exactly to do. Her mouth relaxed, bearing her perfect teeth. Widening to a noticeably inhuman degree, her smile appeared to have morphed into a desperate grimace.
"Never been better."